Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8md
Earthquake near Yosemite Valley, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Yosemite Valley in the 24 hours to 1:36 pm PST (21:36 UTC). The last one was M 2.5, 22 km (14 mi) SE, at 7:51 am PDT on 28 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Yosemite Valley
This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 14 km (9 mi) east-southeast of Yosemite Valley, CA, at 11:06 pm PDT on 9 April 2021 (06:06 UTC), 18 km deep.
USGS: 14km ESE of Yosemite Valley, CA
- When
- 11:06 pm PDT on 9 April 2021 ()
- Where
- 14 km (9 mi) east-southeast of Yosemite Valley, CA · earthquakes near Yosemite Valley
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (md)
- Depth
- 18 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Mariposa County, 44 km WSW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2033 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Yosemite Valley, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Yosemite Valley, CA. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Yosemite Valley, 14 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 13 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,100,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 810,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 72× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 13 lb of TNT
Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.
For this area
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.0 7 km ENE of Mammoth Lakes, California · 47 km E of this epicentre
- 5.9 8 km NNE of Mammoth Lakes, California · 44 km E of this epicentre
- 5.8 3 km NE of Mono City, California · 49 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.4 6 km ESE of Mammoth Lakes, California · 47 km E of this epicentre
- 5.3 3 km SE of Mammoth Lakes, California · 44 km E of this epicentre
Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.
Where
Epicentre 37.6935, -119.4307. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mariposa County, CA | 44 km (28 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Mariposa County |
| Mono County, CA | 55 km (34 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Mono County |
| Tuolumne County, CA | 59 km (37 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Tuolumne County |
| Madera County, CA | 61 km (38 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Madera County |
| Fresno County, CA | 106 km (66 mi) | S | earthquakes near Fresno County |
| Alpine County, CA | 108 km (67 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Alpine County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
49 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 24km SSW of Mammoth Lakes, CA
- 1.7 27km SW of Mammoth Lakes, CA
- 1.7 29km NE of Oakhurst, CA
- 2.3 29km NE of Oakhurst, CA
- 2.6 11km S of Mammoth Lakes, CA
- 2.0 23km ESE of Yosemite Valley, CA
- 1.8 12km N of Yosemite Village, CA
- 1.6 22km NE of North Fork, CA
- 2.2 29km NE of Oakhurst, CA
- 1.7 20km SE of Yosemite Valley, CA
- 1.6 15km ESE of Yosemite Valley, CA
- 1.7 5km W of Mammoth Lakes, CA
- 1.9 19km SE of Yosemite Valley, CA
- 1.6 21km ESE of Yosemite Valley, CA
- 2.1 29km ENE of Oakhurst, CA
Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.
On USGS
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.